Vacuum fuel-feed device



W. JAY.

VACUUM FUEL FEED DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 711918.

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Patented Jul 's, 1919.

WEBB JAY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

VACUUM FUEL- raossis. Continuation in part of application SerialNo. 206.506,

Specification of Letters Patent.

FEED DEVICE.

Patented July 8, 1919.

filed December 10. 1917. This application filed Octoher 7. 1918. Serial No. 257.248.

To all whom it may concern Be it. known that- I. Wren JAY, a citizen of the United States, leSldlllg' at Chicago .in drawings, forming a part thereof.

his application is a continuation in part of my application, Serial X0. 206.506, filed December 10th, 1917, and allowed February 16th, 1918. The'purpose of the invention herein presented is to provide an improved and simplified device for the purposes to which the so-called vacuum feed is commonly applied in supplying fuel from a low level tank to a supplemental tank at a higher level for feeding a carbureter. It consists in the elements and features of construction and their combinations hereinafter described andshown in the drawings, as-indicated by the claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view showin the low level tank and the supplemental higher tank of the vacuum fuel feed system embodying this invention. I

Fig. 2 is a detail section taken as indi cated'at line, 2-2. in Fig. 1

Fig. 3 is a detail section similar to Fig. 2,

illustrating a modification.

, Fi 4. is a detail section taken as indicate at line, 4-4, on Fig. 3. In the draw ings the low level main supply tank is shown. 2113A, and the supplemental elevated feed tank is shown at B. Said feed tank, B, has, the usual vacuum chamber, 1, which has a suction connection by the pipe, 2. leading from any suitable source of suction. usually the intal c manifold of the engine to be-served. 3 is a fuel supply pipe leading from the lo er part of the main low levei tank-A. and discharging into the upper part of the vacuum chamber. 1 of the elevated feed tank. B. From said vacuum I chamber, 1. the liquid fuel discharged into a reserve chamber or reservoir. 4. as usual, pasta check valve. 5. which is opened by the gravity flow of the liquid fuel and is held scate:l by suction when there is partial vacuum operative in the vacuum chamber, 1.

So far as above described, the construction is common and familiar.

In the main low level tank, A, there is provided, preferably at the upper part. there of, a chamber which is herein referred to as a timing chamber for ,the reason that its capacity relatively to that of a certain conduit through which it is emptied serves as a measure for the time or period of the successiveoperations of filling the vacuum chamber. 1, with the I liquid fuel derived from the main low tank, A. This timing chamber, 6, is in'communication with the liquid fuel conduit, 3. wliich'for this pur.

, pose mav conveniently extend down alongside said timing chamber as shown in the drawings, having a lateral spout and port.

for discharge into said timing chamber, shown at 7, andvcont-rolled by a check valve, 8, which is opened by gravity flow from the conduit. 3, into the timing chamber, and is adapted to be held'se-ated by suction operating in said conduit, 3. It. may be understood that the main low tank, A, and the timing chamber are constantly open to atmospheric pressure. as indicated by the air vent orifices, 9, 10, and 20. i

For supplying fuel to the vacuum chamber, 1, there is provided in addition to the conduit, 3, a relatively restricted conduit, 12, leading from the lower part of the timing chamber, 6, and discharging into the top of the vacuum chamber. 1; and an additional function of said restricted conduit, 12, is to supply atmospheric pressure tothe vacuum chamber. 1, after a predetermined quantity of liquid has-been sucked out of the timing chamber, 6, through said conduit. 12, leaving the lower end of the conduit unsealed and open to' the atmosphere in the timing chamber. Preferably the suction pipe, 2, communicates with the vacuum chamber, 1. through a comparatively small aperture, having a capacity closely comparable with that of the restricted conduit. 12, because, as shown, the device is designed to operate with continuous suction and without a suction-controlling valve.

To insure the initial sealing of the lower end of the pipe. 12, the filling nipple for \i the tank. A. is preferably made as shown at' 1 3, leading directly into the timing chamchamber, 1, through the pipe, 2, a partial vacuum will be created therein, and a flow of liquid from the main tank, A, through the pipe, 3, will be started. It may be noticed that the timing chamber, 6, is provided witlra false bottom or battle, 16, but said false bottom is apertured at 17, for communication with the space .below into which space the pipe, 12, opens for access to the liquid in the timing chamber 'or to the air in said chamber when the liquid has been exhausted.

The operation of the structure described is as follows: Assuming that the main tank,

A, has been supplied with liquid fuel and that a supply of liquid is present in the timing chamber, sealing the lower end of the pipe, 12, it will be evident that suction operative through the pipe, 2, will produce a partial vacuum in the chamber, 1, and liquid will be drawn through the conduit, 3, from the main tank, A, and discharged into said vacuum chamber while the timing chamber, 6, is simultaneously exhausted by suction through the pipe, 12, until the lower end of said pipe no longer dips into the liquid in the timing chamber but is open to atmosphere therein. When this condition is reached, the air supplied to the chamber, 1, through the pipe, 12, being sufiicient to satisfy the suction from pipe, 2, will dissipate the partial vacuum in the chamber, 1; in other words, atmospheric pressure will become dominant for the time being, and the check valve, 5, being no longer held to its seat by the suction will open and permit the contents of the vacuum chamber, 1, to be emptied into the reservoir, 4. At the same time, however, the discharge mouth of the pipe, '3, in chamber, 1, being submerged for some distance in the liquid, a portion of said liquid will be siphoned back through the pipe, 3, and emptied into the timing cham-' her, 6, through the port, 7, by gravity opening of the valve, 8, said valve being light enough to be opened by a very slight pressure from the column of liquid in the pipe, 3; furthermore, to insure such discharge of the liquid through the port, 7, rather than back into the tank, A, there may be provided at the foot of the pipe, 3, an outwardly-seating check valve, 3. Thus while the main body of the liquid in the chamber, 1, is being transferred by gravity into the chamber, 4, a small quantity of said liquid is siphoned back to the timing chamber for again sealin" the lower end of the pipe, 12, to permit refilling of the vacuum chamber, 1, by repipe, 12, long enough to permit the complete evacuation of the chamber, 1, through the valve, 5. If desired any other or additional bafiling means beside the apertu're'd false bottom, 16, may be employed for further delaying the arrival and accumulation of liquid in the lower space of the t ming chamber, 6. Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate battles,

l8,upstanding from thebottom of the timing chamber, each stopping short of the same at one end, and alternate baffles 80 stopping short at opposite ends, thus forming, a tortuous lane which the liquid must traverse from the aperture, 17, in the false bottom, 16, before it reaches the intake end of the air pipe, 12.

Another expedient for increasing the delay in the sealing of the air vent pipe, 12, consists in providing a small leak port, 19, formed in said pipe, 12, at a distance above its lower end, but still within the chamber containing the bafiles, 18, so that the suction acting on the pipe, 12, will continue to e practically satisfied thiough said -vent,'19, even after the liquid has risen above the lower end of the pipe, and until the llqllld level actually covers said vent, 19f Thenthe flow of liquid being established through the pipe, 12. to the vacuum chamber, 1, the air vent will be effectually sealed, and sald flow having once been established vwill continue,

even after the level of tlu liquid has fallen below the'vent, 19, and until said level actually drops below the intake end of the pipe,12.

An alternate form of'baflie, 21, 1s illustrated in Figs. 8 and 4, in which each of'thebafiles extends entirely across the space below the false bottom, 16, that is, fromside to side thereof, but not upwardly quite to the said bottom, 16. Each bathe, 21, thus constitutes a dam, and the liquid coming ,througl'i the restricted aperture, 17, must ac cuinulate and successively overflow the several dams, 21, in order to reach the intake end of the pipe, 12. However, to insure the withdrawal from between the dams of'practically the ent-ire'quantity of liquid accumulatcd, there are provided small drain a'pertures, 22, near the bottom of each dam, as seen in Figs. 3 and 4. The relative capacitics of theaperturc,17, drains, 22, and the pipe, 12. will be such that when once the flow of liquid has been reestablished through the pipe, 12, it can be mamtamed through the drains. 22, and that an adequate flow through said drains will in turn be maintained from the aperture, 17, until the space above the false bottom, 16, has been entirely exhausted. Thatis, the capacity of the aperture, 17, should be slightly greater-than that. of either aperture, 22, and the capacity 1 i of each aperture, 22, (since either one may have to act alone if the tank is tilted) should be slightly greater thanv that of pipe, 1:2.

While it is important to provide for 'asuflicient time interval between the discharge of liquid through the port, 7, into the tim- 5. ing chamber, and the final sealing of the pipe. 12, by said liquid in the chamber, it is still more important to accurately adjust the time required for withdrawing from the timing. chamber the liquid accumulated therein. and thus measuring the period through which the suction is permitted to acton the vacuum-chamber for filling it with liquidthrough the pipe, 3. In other words, the time required for transferring chamber through the pipe,. 12, shouldequal the timerequired for transferring from the a given quantity of liquid from the timing a main tank, A,'to the vacuum chamber, 1, a

quantit" sufficient to nearly fill said chainher an submerge the discharge end of the pipe, 3, sufficiently for re-filling the timing chamber. 6, by'the siphon action when atmospheric pressure permitted to dominate the suction in the. vacuum chamber. For

uid through the pipe, 12, to accomplish this result, a'choker, 11, is provided at any conveniently accessible point in the pipe, 1:2, so as to be adjustable for choking the pipe 40 to exactly the desired extent when the device is originally installed,'the proper degree of choking being somewhatdependent upon the directness of the pipe, 12,' and its length which will vary in different installations.

claim in which the fuel is supplied from a main low level supply tank through a liquid fuel conduit. extending from the lower part of said. tank. toanelevated supplemental feed tank provided with a vacuum chamber having a suction connection. characterized by a timing chamber open to the atmosphere dis- 35 originally adjusting the rate of flow of'fliq- 1. A vacuum fuel feed'system of thekind.

associated, from the supplemental tank eX-.

cept as hereinafter specified,"provided with means for supplying liquid by gravity to said timing chamber and preventing back flow therefrom through said means and having an air condtut from the lowest partof 60,the' timing chamber to the upper part of the vacuum chamber adapted to admit air from the timing chamber into the vacuum chamber when the liquid levelin said tim- ,ing chamber is below the intake of said air '65 conduit.

.conduit which extends from the 2. A vacuum fuel feed system ofithe type cla med in clalm 1 wherein the; means for supplying the timing chamber consists of an outflow connection from the liquid conduit which extends from the main low level supply tank to the elevated supplemental feed tank, and the meansfor preventing back- How being a check valve adapted to be held seated by suction operative in said .liquid conduit.

3. A vacuum fuel feedsystem ofthe' type claimed in claimgf lf having means for variably restricting the air conduit, 1

at. A vacuum fuel feed system, of the type claimed in claim 1, wherin'..the liquid fuel aln low level supply tank into the vacuum. chamber of the elevated supplemental feed tank has its opening for discharge intolsaid. vacuum chamber at-a distance below thetop thereof,

whereby the liquid to the capacity of the vacuum chamber above said discharge open-- ing may be siphoned back into the timing chamber.

5. In a vacuum fuel feed system, a chamber for timing the evacuation and'filling' operation. means for supplying and conductmg liquid to said chamber by gravity flow;

an air vent-pipe leading from the Iowerpartof said chamber adaptedto be sealed by the liquid supplied by said means, and means n said chamber for delaying the advance 'of the liquid from its delivery into said c iamber to its arrival at'the intake mouth of said air vent pipe of the liquid supplied by gravity flow to the timing chamber.

6. .A vacuum fuel feed system of the type claimed in claim 5. wherein .the. delaying means comprises a partition in the timing chamber between the liquid'entrance theit toand the intake of the alr conduit, sad partition having a restricted aperture for the passage of liquid therethrough.'

' 7'. A vacuum fuel feed system of the type claimed in claim 5. wherein the delaying means comprises a false bottom in the timing chamber having a restricted aperture for the passage of liquid therethrough. the space belovvvthe false bottom having communication witlrat'mospheric pressure independan outflow connection from the liquid conduit which extends from the main low level '130 to be held seated by said liquid eonduit, sai vided With a check v baekflow into said low suction operative in d conduit being ro-i alve seating agamet level tank and positioned below the outflow connection from said conduit in the timing chamber.

Intestimony whereof, I have hereunto set 10 my hand at Chicago, Illinois, this 27th day of September, 1918.

WEBB J AY. 

